Lucky Shot
by L1701E
Summary: Chapter 2 up! Complete! Set during the movie. Lt. Kevin Kowalski recalls where he, and a certain Orion cadet friend he made, were during the Narada's attack on the fleet. Read and Review please!
1. Introduction!

**Lucky Shot**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Star Trek characters except for Kevin Kowalski and Counselor Rodgers. And here's your quote: "Yes, they deserve to die, and I hope they burn in hell!" - Samuel L. Jackson as Carl Lee Hailey, _A Time to Kill_**

**Hello, folks! L1701E here, and I started writing this little tale when an idea came to my head about where Kowalski was during the events of the Star Trek movie. The idea also explained how a certain little minor character from the film survived the Narada's thrashing of a fleet of starships, and why she was unseen in the rest of the film. Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Introduction.

**The USS Enterprise**

"Hello, Lieutenant." The counselor, a reddish-blonde woman dressed in the blue Starfleet mini-dress uniform, smiled as she welcomed a man into her office.

"Hey there, Counselor Rodgers." A lanky, yet muscular young man smiled as he entered the room. His voice showed an English accent. He was wearing the standard red Starfleet uniform, with lieutenant's stripes on the sleeves. He also had on a tool belt around his waist. Unusually, he had shoulder-length dirty blond hair, tied in a neat ponytail. He was Kevin Kowalski, a technician on the Enterprise. Many viewed him as the Enterprise's resident rock star, due to his being a talented musician and his love of Earth rock music from the 1970s and 1980s. The son of a boxer and a stand-up comedienne, Kowalski was known for his pranks.

"Take a seat, Lieutenant Kowalski." Counselor Paula Rodgers smiled. Kowalski took a seat opposite from her. She started to write in her PADD. "First, I want to ask how you are doing." Kowalski shrugged.

"I'm doing okay, I guess." He then took a drink of water. "I do have another little project in the works, though."

"I thought your project was that new Holodeck thing." Rodgers blinked.

"I finished it. It's been a big hit." Kowalski grinned. "You should try it out! There's some great simulations in it."

"Perhaps I will." Rodgers nodded. "...have you been having any troubles about the _Farragut_?"

"Not since last week." Kowalski admitted.

"That's good." Rodgers nodded, writing in her PADD. "I know it is hard for you, being one of the only two survivors of that ship. In fact, I have an appointment with the other survivor this afternoon." Kowalski then burst out laughing. "What's so funny, Lieutenant?"

"Oh, you'll have to be careful with her." Kowalski warned with a chuckle. "She can be a real spitfire. We caught her and her last therapist in bed together. What a night that was. Diplomats gone mad, crazed chickens, and a drunk Captain Kirk singing Eric Clapton. Great night."

"Yes, I've heard." Rodgers nodded. "As I'm new, you're going to have to relay me your story of how you two managed to survive the destruction of the _Farragut_."

"That's in me report." Kowalski reminded. "That's already known. You don't need to ask me."

"Yes, but I would like to hear it in your own words." Rodgers explained. "I want to hear how you remember it."

"Well..." Kowalski sighed. "It happened like this. You see, Captain Benton of the _Farragut _was having me repair a shuttlecraft that was damaged in an earlier mission..."

**The Shuttlecraft Bay of the USS _Farragut_, shortly before the fleet's battle with the Narada**

_I must remain inside this silent web of sorrow..._ The voice of Ian Gillan blasted into Kowalski's ears from a small music player as the young lieutenant started to solder together a circuit in the shuttlecraft's control panel. The young lieutenant was also quietly singing along. Unbeknownst to him, two figures were walking towards the shuttle bay. The two figures were conversing. One was a tall man with balding black hair and a mustache, wearing the gold Starfleet uniform. The other was a curvaceous green-skinned redhead, dressed in the red cadet's uniform. She was carrying a computer under her arm.

"Now, young lady, I must warn you..." The man warned the redhead. His voice showed a more upper-class English accent, unlike Kowalski's cockney-influenced voice. "Lieutenant Kowalski is a bit...odd."

"I've dealt with some oddballs in the Academy. I'll be fine, sir." The redhead waved him off.

"Quite." He cleared his throat, and called towards the lieutenant. "Lt. Kowalski..." Kowalski continued his work, not hearing him. "Lt. Kowalski..." Kowalski still worked. "KOWALSKI!" Kowalski jumped up and turned off his music. He pulled up his mask and turned off his torch as he turned around and exited the shuttlecraft. "What's up, sir?" The redhead grinned.

_Hey, this assignment may not be so bad after all. He's actually kinda cute!_ She thought.

"Lieutenant Kowalski, I know you've been asking for help in repairing the shuttlecraft." The man, Captain Thomas Benton, remembered.

"Yeah I have, sir." Kowalski nodded. He pulled a cloth out of his tool belt and started wiping his hands on it. "Red here any good with computers? I need someone who's good with software. I'm no hacker, sir."

"She obtained spectacular grades in programming at the Academy." Benton explained.

"And I didn't even have to sleep with any of the teachers to get it!" The redhead grinned, making Kowalski burst out laughing.

"Oh, I like her already!" Kowalski laughed. Benton groaned.

_Orions..._ "Kowalski, this is Cadet Gaila. Gaila, this is Kevin Kowalski."

"Nice to meet ya." Kowalski smiled, shaking Gaila's hand. "Just Gaila, huh? No last name?"

"It's difficult for humans to pronounce, so I often drop it." Gaila explained with a smile. "Kowalski, huh? Strange name."

"Me dad's Polish." Kowalski explained.

"I trust that you two will be able to repair this shuttlecraft?" Benton asked.

"No problem, sir." Kowalski grinned, giving Benton a jaunty salute. Gaila had walked over to the shuttlecraft to examine it. Benton quickly leaned to Kowalski.

"Kowalski, you had better be careful around her. You know what they say about the Orion women." Benton warned. The younger Englishman looked at Gaila, then back at Benton.

"Oh yeah, she is brimming with viciousness and cunning." Kowalski remarked dryly. He knew perfectly well about the seductive powers of the Orion female, but much of it was legend and exaggeration, built up by wild-eyed cadets and explorers. "Come on! That's an old pulp magazine stereotype!"

"Quite. I'll leave you two to your work, then." Benton walked off, letting Kowalski walk to the shuttle. "Oh, and Kowalski..."

"Yes, sir?"

"For God's sake, at some point, make an appointment with the ship's barber and _cut your hair..._" Benton groaned tiredly as he walked away. He didn't know why he bothered anymore. He told Kowalski to cut his hair a thousand times, but the young technician never did. How he got away with it in the Academy was anyone's guess. Gaila blinked at Kowalski's ponytail.

"Is it against Earth custom for males to have long hair?" The Orion blinked. Kowalski shrugged.

"Not really. He just doesn't like it being long. Benton's all prim-and-proper, martinet type of deal. He's a bit of a pompous arse. Good captain, but he lets it get to his head. Acts like he's God's gift to the starship on occasion."

"Ah, I see." Gaila nodded. She then smiled. "You should keep it like that. It's refreshing seeing someone wear their hair a little differently on occasion."

"Yeah, thanks." Kowalski smiled, fingering his ponytail. "It's a holdover from me days back home in London. I was in a band, then."

"A band?" Gaila blinked. "You play music?"

"Yup." Kowalski grinned. "I still do play. You play any instruments?"

"Not really." Gaila admitted. "I sing a little, and I like messing around with that one instrument, the uh...tambourine, yeah." She then looked around. "What's exactly wrong with the shuttle? It looks alright."

"Believe me, it looked worse before I started on it." Kowalski explained. "I'm great with repairing physical things, but when it comes to programs and all that, I'm lost. I needed someone who knows their ones and zeroes, if ya know what I mean." Gaila laughed.

"Lead me to the computer core of this thing and let me work my magic." The Orion grinned. Kowalski bowed dramatically at the shuttle's door.

"After you, luv." Gaila laughed as she walked in.

"You know, after we finish up here..." The Orion shot Kowalski a seductive smirk. "Maybe I can work my magic on you." Kowalski chuckled.

"I appreciate the offer, but I never hook up with girls I just meet. Friend of mine did that once, and it led to some crazy times." The blond-haired Englishman explained. The redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yup." Kowalski nodded. "Let's just say it involved a drunk furious preacher, a van, a couple explosions, the police, some gun play and gratuitous violence, and a lot of very angry zebras." Gaila blinked.

"What're zebras?"

"Four-legged animals native to Africa on Earth." Kowalski explained. "They're really neat. You know what a horse is, right?" Gaila nodded. She saw a horse once. Someone arrived at the Academy riding one. "Imagine a horse that is white with black stripes. And that's a zebra, essentially."

"Wow." The Orion blinked. "Sounds like you have some very interesting friends."

"Yeah. Ol' Andy was a wild man." Kevin chuckled.

"Sounds like he was a lot of fun." Gaila chuckled as she opened a panel on the shuttle's floor, revealing the computer core of the shuttlecraft. "How exactly did the shuttlecraft get busted up?"

"Uh, a mission, I believe." Kowalski remembered. "The shuttle was rescuing some kidnapped dignitary and it got caught in a firefight. Took some bad hits. One of the engines exploded."

"Shouldn't you have had a repair team helping you with this?" Gaila realized, pulling a cord out of her computer and connecting it to the computer core. "If the shuttle was so damaged, why would the captain have you fix it all by yourself?"

"I did." Kowalski explained. "I'm just finishing up here, really. Just got to get that control panel back together again." He then eyed his music player. "Hey Green Jeans, you like music?"

"Who doesn't? I prefer 22nd Century techno myself." Gaila answered as she typed, unaware of Kowalski's grumbling about techno simply being another term for disco music. "Geez, some of these programs are really badly corrupted. I may have to rebuild some of these from the ground up. Dammit."

"I like to listen to music when I work." Kowalski explained as he turned on his music player, and pressed a button on it. "Makes the work less stressful. Benton hates it, but he's not the one fixing this thing." The radio started playing a keyboard note. Gaila blinked.

"What is that?"

"Deep Purple." Kowalski explained. "Me favorite band. Their music is a couple hundred years old, but it's still absolutely fantastic. This is one of their most famous songs: 'Perfect Strangers'."

"I've never heard music like that before." The Orion cadet admitted.

"Yeah, I love this stuff." Kowalski smiled. "So, you're gonna have to rebuild some programs, huh?"

"Yeah." Gaila nodded. "You're lucky, handsome. You got yourself someone who is more than just a nice body helpin' ya."

"Yeah, Benton said you'd try this." Kowalski smirked.

"And I suppose you're one of those who believe that all of us Orion chicks are sex-crazed animal women?" Gaila raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I will admit, I am sex-crazed."

"No, he said to me..." Kowalski then started imitating Benton's more upper-class accent. "'Be careful, Lieutenant, you know what they say about the Orion women'. And I said to 'im, 'Yeah, she is _brimming_ with viciousness and cunning'." The redhead burst out laughing.

"Yeah, I had to admit, I think the Captain is a bit uptight." Gaila confessed. "Maybe he just needs to get his wife to nail him a bit more often."

"Good luck tryin', luv!" Kowalski laughed. "I doubt he's seen a naked woman in his life."

"Maybe I can change that at some point." Gaila grinned.

**The USS Enterprise, the present day**

"That's a fantastic story and all Lieutenant, but it still doesn't explain how the two of you managed to escape the _Farragut._" Rodgers frowned. "There have been some rumors you two fled the ship."

"We did _not_ flee." Kowalski scowled. "Yes, if it weren't for that shuttlecraft, we'd both be dead. But let me tell you something. We did not jump in it and fly off like a couple of cowards when the _Narada_ blasted the _Farragut_ to kindle. In fact, the shuttle caused us to practically miss the battle! Let me explain..."

_**Well, well, well! Looks like Kowalski's little tale is about to pick up! What will happen next? How was the shuttle involved? Find out in the next chapter!**_


	2. Trapped!

**Lucky Shot**

**Disclaimer: "There's something you'd better understand about me, 'cause it's important and one day your life may depend on it. I am _definitely_ a madman with a box." - Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, "The Eleventh Hour".**

Chapter 2: Trapped!

**The _USS Enterprise_, present day.**

"Really." Counselor Paula Rodgers raised a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow at Kevin Kowalski in disbelief. "You missed the battle with the _Narada_ because of the shuttlecraft you and Ensign Gaila were fixing."

"Honest and true, Counselor." Kowalski answered. "The events in me report are accurate and truthful. Ask Gaila! She'll back me up! She will flirt, and probably talk about me arse, but she'll back me up."

"Okay, Lieutenant." Rodgers chuckled. "I believe you. Let me hear the rest of the story."

"Okay..." Kowalski nodded. "Here's what happened next..."

**The _USS Farragut_**

"No offense, but I don't think that'd be such a good idea." Kowalski told Gaila, going back to his soldering.

"And why not?" The redheaded Orion frowned. "I think even that...what did you call him, martinet?" Kowalski nodded. "Would appreciate all of this..." She gestured at herself. "On his bed eager for a night of good times."

"Or, knowing him, he'll have a mild heart attack on the spot." Kowalski countered. "And then we'll be left without a captain, and your green arse might end up in Rura Penthe."

"Rura Penthe is a Klingon prison." Gaila reminded.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Benton has friends in the Klingon Empire." Kowalski muttered.

"You think he does?" Gaila blinked.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Kowalski shrugged. "You doin' any good on that program rebuilding?"

"Yup. Just gotta put in a couple lines of code on this one." Gaila did some typing. "Okay, that's this one done, now for this one...It must've been some firefight."

"Yup." Kowalski nodded. "I think there was a fistfight inside the shuttle, too. At least, that's what the pilot told me."

"With a dignitary on board?" Gaila's jaw dropped.

"The guy had a mean right hook." Kowalski smirked. A klaxon was heard, and the shuttlecraft bay was bathed in flashing red lights. "Bloody hell-!"

"Red Alert!" Gaila gasped.

"_This is a Red Alert."_ Benton's voice announced calmly over the intercom. _"We are engaging an unknown craft. All crew must report to battle stations at once._"

"Well..." Kowalski started to turn off his soldering iron. A whirring was heard. "What the-?!" He noticed the shuttlecraft's door had shut. "Blast it! I'll open it up." He pressed a button on the console to get the door open. A buzz was the console's response to Kowalski's attempt to command it. "Oh, great! We're stuck!"

"No we aren't." Gaila blinked. "We can just open the door here." Gaila pressed the button on a control panel next to the door, but a buzz erupted from the console and a red light could be seen. "Oh, no!" Kowalski's jaw dropped.

"I had just fixed that damn thing!" He groaned in frustration. "Great! Just great!"

"Can you fix it?" Gaila wondered.

"Yeah, I'll just need a minute." Kowalski sighed. "Luckily, I managed to fix the communications system." He flipped a switch. "Kowalski to Bridge!" The two Starfleet members found themselves rocked. The ship seemed to shake. "Whoa!"

"Eek!" Gaila yelped. "We've been hit by something!"

"Bloody inertial dampeners!" Kowalski grumbled. "I swear, those things are more useless than the appendix!"

"_Kowalski!_" Benton's voice was heard yelling through the shuttlecraft's intercom. "_I heard neither you nor Cadet Gaila were at your battle stations! What is going on?!_"

"We're..." Kowalski answered nervously. "...kinda stuck in the shuttlecraft, sir. Another malfunction." A sigh was heard.

"_Well, I guess you two are going to have to wait until we can get you out, then._" Benton sighed. "_Benton out._" The comline shut off.

"Hang on, I'll try to cut us out." Kowalski grabbed his soldering iron. The ship shook again, causing Kowalski to fall to the ground. "What the bloody 'ell is going on out there?!"

"Let me hack into the ship's viewscreen." Gaila grabbed her computer and started typing. "There! Look!" The two then gazed at the screen. It showed a massive industrial-appearing ship, almost resembling a squid with outward-reaching tentacles, firing green photon torpedoes everywhere at various ships. "By the Gods..." She mumbled under her breath. "What...what _is_ that thing?!"

"Whatever it is, it's big, ugly, and most likely mad." Kowalski mumbled. The ship shook again. "That didn't sound good."

_**KABOOM!!**_

An explosion erupted in the shuttlebay.

"DOWN!" Kowalski and Gaila screamed at each other as they hit the deck. The two quickly peeked up, and through the shuttlecraft's windows, they saw that a hole was blown in the shuttlebay's hull. They saw barrels and various items being blown out into space.

"By the Gods..." The Orion mumbled.

"Oh, man..." Kowalski winced. "The _Farragut_'s shields must've blown out!" Another explosion rocked the shuttle bay.

"Uh, Kevin?" Gaila looked at the blond-haired technician. "Is it just me, or is that hole getting bigger?" Kowalski blinked at the hole.

"No...we're getting closer to it, what the-?!" Kowalski quickly moved towards the other side of the shuttle, and looked outside it. "Uh oh..."

"What is it?!" Gaila blinked. She quickly joined Kowalski at the side of the shuttle. Her eyes widened at what she saw. "Uh oh."

"Yup." Kowalski nodded.

The shuttle was moving towards the hole in the hull. The two caught sight of another explosion, consuming the wall they were moving away from. The force of the explosion blasted the shuttle through the hole in the hull, sending the shuttle, with its two unwilling passengers, into space. The two Starfleet members screamed as the shuttle was sent flying, end-over-end.

"My stomach..." Gaila moaned.

"My brains are going into my feet..." Kowalski added, his face turning slightly green. He slowly crawled towards the shuttle's controls. "Gotta...get this thing back on level..." He pressed a button on the panel, and the shuttle's thrusters. The small jets helped stabilize the ship.

"Thank the Gods that's over." Gaila sighed, sitting up and rubbing her head. She noticed a horrified Kowalski looking out the shuttle's front windows. "Kevin?" She quickly got to her feet and moved towards the Englishman. "Kevin?" She noticed what he was looking at...and gasped in horror.

"By the Gods..." Terror gripped the green redhead's face. The _Farragut_ was on its last legs. The ship had chunks blown off and an engine missing, but it still kept blasting at the _Narada_. It barely managed to dodge one of the torpedoes the _Narada_ had fired, but it was not so lucky with the second one. The second one slammed into the center of the ship, blowing it in half. A horrified Gaila covered her mouth, and tears ran down her cheeks. The halves of the ship exploded.

"My God..." Kowalski mumbled. Gaila only squeaked. Kowalski turned to the console. "We've got to stay out of sight." Gaila turned to Kowalski.

"Did you see what that thing just did?!" Gaila snarled. "It just killed everyone on the _Farragut_! We have to avenge them!"

"Yeah, I saw what that thing just bloody did!" Kowalski snapped. "Look at us! We're in a bloody shuttlecraft! A shuttlecraft that is not at one-hundred percent! This thing doesn't even have a phaser bank! The _Farragut_ was a top-of-the-line ship! It couldn't put a dent in that thing! Gaila, we can't fight that monster! We'll just get the hell blown out of us like they did on the _Farragut!_" He looked at the firefight. "We've gotta call Starfleet. Get some more ships here, get some help!" He quickly tried to call a starship with the shuttle's communications thing. "Kowalski to Starfleet! Kowalski to Starfleet!" The lieutenant got nothing but static in response. Gaila scowled.

"Well, what should we do? You are the ranking officer here." The Orion reminded. Kowalski frowned.

"We have no choice." Kowalski sighed. "We can't raise anyone. We can't fight." He looked at the firefight. "And if we get into the middle of that fracas to try and get rescued...we might be blown to bits."

"We have to wait it out." Gaila realized with a sigh. Kowalski nodded.

"Yeah." He noticed a large piece of debris. He then programmed some coordinates and the shuttle flew behind the piece of debris. "We can hide behind this. It's an old space pirate trick. The debris blocks the ship's scanners, preventing them from detecting us." Gaila sighed.

"We are going to be in so much trouble. Our butts are going to be court-martialed."

**USS _Enterprise_, present day**

"We stayed behind that piece of debris until the battle ended." Kowalski remembered. "The _Narada_ didn't even notice us, thank God." Rodgers nodded. "After that, we decided to head towards the nearest Starbase."

"I understand you two didn't get court-martialed." She added.

"Luckily, a transport ship found us at the remains of Vulcan, and took us to the nearest Starbase." Kowalski explained. "In fact, the _Enterprise's_ crew met us there."

**Starbase 457, a few days after the _Narada_ incident**

In one of the kiosks at the Starbase, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura sighed forlornly as she stared at her Cardassian sunrise.

"Somethin' troublin' ya, darlin'?" The communications officer looked up at saw Dr. Leonard McCoy and Spock standing at the table.

"I'm alright, you guys." She nodded sadly.

"Your body language and tone indicates otherwise." Spock countered. She sighed.

"I'm just thinking about Gaila." Uhura sighed. "She was my best friend at the Academy."

"Yeah, we lost a lotta good people thanks to those future Romulans." McCoy agreed. "Personally, I ain't gonna miss 'em."

"I must confess, I have to agree with the good Doctor." Spock concurred. McCoy's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Oh my God, you two actually agreeing on something." Uhura's jaw dropped. "This is a special occasion." She then noticed Admiral Pike wheeling up to the group. "Admiral!" She stood up in respect, making the older man chuckle.

"At ease, Lieutenant." He chuckled. "I have some news. Evidently, it turns out there were a couple of survivors of the _Farragut's_ destruction at Vulcan."

"Fascinating." Spock raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that's great!" McCoy nodded. "Well, I can imagine that they must be going through a rough time right now."

"Yeah, well...one of them wanted to say hello." Pike explained.

"Nyota!" Nyota found herself grabbed in a big hug. "Hey there, girl! Ya miss me?!" Uhura couldn't believe herself. She saw Gaila, dressed in the red Starfleet uniform, accompanied by Kowalski.

"Gaila?!" The communications officer gasped. She squealed and eagerly returned the hug. "OMIGOD! I thought you were dead!"

"Nah, I'm not dead." Gaila grinned. "It'll take a lot more than a bunch of future Romulans to take this crazy Orion down." She nudged Kowalski with her shoulder. "Especially since I had this guy at my back."

"Well, I'll be." McCoy chuckled. "It's a miracle. Betcha your gal's feeling a lot better now, huh Legolas?" Spock looked at McCoy.

"I preferred you referring to me as 'Hobgoblin'." Spock told the Southerner simply. Gaila joined Uhura at the table and the two started chatting excitedly. He looked over at Kowalski. "And you are?"

"Lieutenant Kevin Kowalski, sir." Kevin greeted with his trademark jaunty two-fingered salute. "I was a technician on the _Farragut._ Gaila was helping me with repairing a shuttle when the battle with the _Narada_ hit. She and I ended up trapped in the shuttle and we ended up riding the battle out. We got our butts out of there when Vulcan disintegrated and headed to the nearest starbase." He then smiled. "Never thought I'd get to meet the crew of the _Enterprise_, the crew that saved the universe, heh heh. You know, I got a friend on the _Enterprise_. His name's John Cronin." Spock nodded in recognition.

"Yes, he is a biochemist." Spock recalled. "He has a fondness for beautiful women and old cars. He helped Captain Kirk obtain a Corvette."

"That's him, sir!" Kowalski grinned. "How's he doing?"

"He was injured in the _Narada_'s attack." Spock answered. "He has a broken leg."

"Ah, the guy'll be fine." McCoy grunted. "He kept trying to chat up my nurses. He's as bad as Jim." Kowalski chuckled.

"Yup, that's John, alright."

**USS _Enterprise,_ present day**

"And that's the story." Kowalski told Rodgers. "I'm sure me report covers the rest of all that stuff."

"Mm-hmm." Rodgers nodded. "That is quite a story, Kowalski. I have to admit, it's more interesting hearing it from you than just reading your report."

"Yeah, it does." Kowalski grinned. "Maybe I oughta write a novel based on it or something." A crackling on the ship's PA was heard.

"_Lieutenant Kowalski, you are needed on deck 14. The replicators are putting out nothing but salmon again._" Kowalski sighed.

"I just fixed the blasted things." He got up and started to leave. "I'm sorry to cut this short, Counselor..."

"It's alright, Lieutenant." Rodgers nodded. "Although I do expect you back once we're done. I'm still not done with your exam."

"No problem, luv." Kowalski grinned. "Maybe I'll get to tell you another fun story!"

_**Well, well, well! There's one mystery solved! What insanity will happen next? Can Kowalski fix the replicators? Will he tell any more stories? Find out soon! Thanks for reading! **_


End file.
